Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-02-10

family, Others na0 Ieft perhaps 100 keeulE
the deep responsibility resting upon them
when chosen from tho panel rs jurors, and
had evaded their public duties; q few had de-
clined office and low salary; but no one
shrank from the possibility Of having been
called upon to assume the functions OF Peggy
Moffat, the heiress
The will was contested--frst by the widow.
whom it now appeared had never been le-
gally divorced from the deceased; next by
four of his cousins, who awoke, only too late,
to consciousness Of his moral and pecuniary
worth. But the humble legatee-a singulariy
plain. unpretending, uneducated western
girl-exhibited logged pertinacity in
claiming her rights. She rejected all compro-
niises rough sense Of justice in the COM
munity, while doubling her ability to take
care of the whole fortune, suggested that she
ought to be content with 100000 "She's
bound to throw even that away ON some
derned skunk of a man, natoornlly; but
three millions is too much to give q
chap for maxim her unhappy. It's offerin'
q temptation to cussedness-" The only
opposing voice to this counsel came from
the sardonic lipsof Mr.. Jack Hamlin Sup
pose" suggested that gentleman, turning
abruptly on the speaker-"supposc, when
you won $4,000 of me last Friday
night = suppose that instead of handing
you over the money as did-suppose I'd got
up on my hind legs, and said, Look yer, Bill
Wsthersbee, you're DID fool. II give
ye that twenty thousand, you'll throw it
away In the first skin game in Frisco, and
hand it over to the first short card sharp you'll
meet. There's a thousand-enough for you
to fling away,-tako 1t and getr Suppose
what I'd said to you was the frozen truth,
and you know'd it, would that have been the
square thing to play on you" But here
Wethersbee quickly pointed out the inefii-
cheney of the comparison by stating that he
had won the money fairly with a stake "And
how do you know" demanded Hnmlin saw
agely, bending his black eyes on the aston
ished casuist-"how do you know that the gal
hezn't put down stalker The man stani-
rnered an unintelligible reply. The gambler
laid his white hand on Wsthersbees shoulder.
Look here, old man." he said, "every gal
stakes her whole pile-you can bet your life
took to keerds instead of her feelings, IL she'd
put up chips instead O. body and soul, she'd
bust every bank 'twixt this and Friscol You
hear meF'
Somewhat of this idea was conveyed, fear
not quite as sentimentally, to Peggy Moffat
herself The best legal wisdom Of San Fran
cisco retained by the widow and relatives, took
occasion, in private interview with Peggy,
to point out that she stood in the quasi crimi-
nal attitude of having unlawfully practiced
upon the affections of an insane elderly gentle
man, with view of getting possession Of his
property, and suggested 20 her that no vestigs
OK her moral character would remain after
the trial, if she persisted in forcing her claims
to that issue. It is said that Peggy, on hear
ing this, stopped washing the plate she had in
her hands, and. twisting the towel around her
fingers. fixed her small pale blue eyes at the
lawyer
"And ez that the kind o. chirpin these crit
tsrs keep upl'
II regret TO say. my dear young lady 70
sponded the lawyer. shat the world Is CEN
serious. must add he continued. with en-
gagiug frankness, shat we professional law
yers are apt to study the opinion OF the
world. and that such wiz be the theory Of
our side"
Then" said Peggy stoutly, "ez I allow
I've got to go into court TO defend my char
acter, might Is well pack in them three NIL
lions too
There Is hesrsay evidences that Peg added
to this speech . wish and desire TO sbust tina
crust OF her traducers, and. remarking that
shat was the kind Of hairpin" she was,
closed the conversation with an unfortunate
accident to the plate that left a severe contu-
sion on the legal brow Of her companion.
But this story, popular in the barrooms and
gulches. lacked confirmation in higher circles.
Better authenticated was the legend related
Of an interview with her own lawyer That
gentleman bad pointed out to her the advan-
tage OF being able to show some reasonable
cause for the singular generosity OF the tes-
/ tator.
Although be continued. athe law does
fatctEo beck Of the VIII for reason orcause fg